I have just made some slight modifications, mainly typos, to the two articles I’ve written on raw feeding. However, I’d like to take a moment to address some issues that people are not paying attention to.
It seems that people think raw feeding is plopping down some raw meat and letting the dog have at it. There are some issues I have with this. Yes, your dog can survive on this, in fact your dog can eat garbage and survive, but that is no reason to do it. Yes, dogs will survive on just eating meat and those that argue that raw meat is all your dog would get in the wild are partially right. That also makes them partially wrong. Remember a roaming dog will come across berries, vegetation, and a litany of other things that he will eat including grass. Furthermore, giving your dog all he needs to survive is not allowing him to thrive, and if we love our dogs, we should want them to thrive.
This being said, I am particularly upset with people who make raw feeding into a simple “put the meat down and walk away” exercise. If that is what you are planning, keep your dog on commercial (hopefully a good quality) food. If you care for your dog, consider doing all you can do to help him thrive. This involves supplements, vegetables and mixing enough of a variety into your dog’s daily diet to keep him happy and interested. Mealtime in my house is always a celebration. My dogs love whatever it is they are gonna get fed, mainly because I put effort into what I feed them.
Remember if you want your dog to live a healthy, happy life, give him what he needs. Fresh organic meats and vegetables as well as supplements to help him thrive should be considered for all dogs. In this sense I am partially correcting what I said in my first article where I mentioned balance in the diet. I’m not saying everything should be weighed out, but I am saying that there should be a variety to the food you feed your dog.
If this is not something you are prepared to do, consider some of the high quality pet foods available. They are not cheap, but I hope your dog is worth it. There are many more available now than even a few years ago. I’ve researched and found several good quality foods that I would, and have, fed my dog. Furthermore, as I wrote in my RAW DIET part 2, you should consider supplementing your raw diet with a good quality canned or kibble food occasionally. This will make it easy for you in the event of an emergency or if you are traveling.